Unwanted pregnancies and its related factors in pregnant women referred to health care centers in Bandar Abbas, Iran - 2004

Introduction: Control of population growth rate and unwanted pregnancies (UWPs)
is one of the most important priorities in developing countries. According to the last
national health surveys in Iran, Hormozgan province has the second leading
population growth rate. Although several surveys have been conducted on prevalence
UWPs in other provinces, but there is no one in this province. The purpose of this
study was to estimate the proportion of UWPs the pattern of help-seeking related
behavior and its related factors among pregnant women.
Methods: This is a cross-sectional study which was conducted in Bandar Abbas
in 2004. Stratified random sampling was performed to select 530 women referred
to all of eight health care centers of the city. All of the cases were interviewed
about their wanted or unwanted pregnancy or possibility of any action for illegal
abortion. Their data were recorded in a pre-designed questionnaire. Chi-square
and fisher's pair wise comparison tests were used for analysis.
Results: In this study, 141 (26.6%) of all cases were UWPs, of which 64
(45.4%) resorted to abortion. Of which 43 (67.2%) had used herbal medications,
10 (15.6%) chemical medications and 7 (11%) sharp vehicles to induce illegal
abortion. Most of all cases with UWPs were in illiterate or very low educated
(primary school) group or in high educated group (P<0.008). More than 50%
(n=71) of women with UWPs had not used any contraceptive method.
Conclusion: Most of women with UWPs turn to avoid unwanted births. The
provision of family planning counseling and information could substantially
reduce the rate of unwanted pregnancy and illegal induced abortion.